Chapter 85

Ch85 – Edible Zergs

With Ruan Tang's status as a military consultant, it was not difficult to get an audience with the Supreme Commander.

When He Wei Ye saw that he had come especially to the military headquarters to see him instead of discussing it at home, he knew that Ruan Tang had come to discuss about 'canned goods'. He directly asked, "Canned goods? What are those things?"

"Beverages, meats, vegetables, fruits, and other foods are sealed in metal cans for long-term preservation." Ruan Tang explained, "Compared with the preservation boxes used today, they can be stored longer and are more durable. I think they can be used as rations to supply food for the frontline. "

In his previous life, all kinds of canned goods were considered essentials for armies on the march. Its long shelf life and durability made it a highly sought-after ration. In the Second World War, the canned goods of the US army was the envy of their enemies.

He Wei Ye asked Ruan Tang everything about canned food. He saw Ruan Tang's tense look and showed a hesitant expression. He could see that Ruan Tang deliberately came to find him and wanted to include this canned food among the military supplies. He had no doubt about whether Ruan Tang was here to profit from the war. Ruan Tang had no use for it, and he simply wasn't that kind of person. He believed that Ruan Tang wanted to improve the diet of soldiers fighting on the frontline. But in such a tense situation, this 'canned goods' was like chicken ribs.

Not to mention, to produce this 'canned goods' they would need to build factories and assembly lines. It was a lot of trouble just to transport one item. Faced with the Zergs' wanton invasion in front, and the malicious plunder by the Valens behind, it was very difficult to deliver the supplies to the hands of the frontline soldiers. Therefore, He Wei Ye's biggest requirement for military supplies was portability.

The nutritional value, taste, and satiety of canned foods were higher than nutrient solutions'. But it was also heavier and bulkier. As a military ration, it was definitely not as convenient to transport as nutrient solutions. In his opinion, the improved version of the nutrient solutions can play a role similar to this canned food, so there was no need to do more.

However, He Wei Ye was aware of Ruan Tang's good intentions, and this 'canned goods' was indeed something good. So, he said, "Ok, you can discuss it with A'Yi and when it's produced it can be directly sold in the shopping site."

Ruan Tang understood that He Wei Ye was not planning to include this in their rations, so he said, "Supreme Commander He, what if the canned goods were to be made from Zergs?"

"What are you talking about?!" He Wei Ye couldn't help but frown, and he stood up in astonishment.

Use Zergs as food? What a joke!

.

Ruan Tang smiled a bit embarrassedly. He looked up at him, and said, "Since water monsters can be eaten, why can't the Zergs? If we can make the Zergs into food, our frontline soldiers will no longer need nutrient solution, but can source their food locally. There would be no need to worry that they wouldn't have enough to eat. "

"We can make the hard shells of the Zergs into body armor, so that we can be protected from the Zerg's corrosive fluid. We'll no longer have to worry about the personal safety of soldiers in the case they need to fight hand to hand. Their shell can also be added to the mechs. We can make a mech specifically to combat the Zergs. "

"The most important thing is that the soldiers on the frontlines are definitely exhausted. But the Zergs just keep on coming. Under this kind of situation, they will definitely begin to despair. But if the Zergs are no longer seen as enemies that would kill them but as food and as precious materials, will they still be afraid?" Ruan Tang couldn't help but smile, "No, the more Zergs, the more excited they will be."

He Wei Ye was intrigued by his words, his brows were furrowed, but the look in his eyes gradually lightened.

Indeed, as Ruan Tang said, faced with the continuous stream of Zergs, with dwindling supplies, the morale of the frontline soldiers was at an all-time low. Despite their strong encouragement, a pessimistic mood had spread across the army.

Will the Zergs really win? Can we even go back alive?

The warriors who have lost their fighting spirit were just dead men walking. If they were already scared and flinching when facing the Zergs, mortality rates would only climb higher and higher. For this reason, the Ministry of Military Affairs has been extremely worried for a long time but they were unable to do anything about it. Now, Ruan Tang proposed to convert the identity of the Zergs into "resources". Once the soldiers accept this mindset, they will no longer be afraid, but rather, excited when they faced the Zergs.

He Wei Ye exhaled, walked to Ruan Tang and bowed slightly to stare straight at him, "I'm very excited about what you're suggesting. But are you sure that the Zergs can be eaten and made into mechs?"

Knowing that he had already basically agreed, Ruan Tang relaxed and smiled easily, "I don't know if they can be made into mechs, but I'm sure they can be eaten."

Before coming to the military headquarters, he had discussed canning with He Yun Yi in the Academy. He Yun Yi also thought that this was a good thing, but could only be applied to later wars and for civilians use. It was totally useless in the present war.

Ruan Tang felt frustrated. But just then the Zerg corpses delivered from the Celtic planet just arrived. Out of curiosity, he followed He Yun Yi to inspect it.

In interstellar novels and games from his previous life, the Zergs were big bosses that you could not be circumvented. But in the food novels, the Zergs always became food for humans. Ruan Tang thought, 'I do live cooking broadcasts and if I were transported into a novel, that would make it a food novel, right?'

Then, maybe Zergs can … Be eaten?

Ruan Tang couldn't help but to scratch his head and smile, feeling that he was letting his imagination run wild. He followed He Yun Yi and entered the warehouse.

A total of eighteen Zerg corpses were sent, from a total of six different breeds; from fingernail-sized bugs to hill-like beetles.

When He Yun Yi saw these things, he couldn't help but close his eyes and say, "They're so ugly."

Ruan Tang stared blankly at them for a moment. He felt that his brain hole must have gotten so big, light must probably be shining through it.

The fingernail-sized bugs' entire body were golden in color. Among the red and green variegated bugs, except for a pair of tiny saw-toothed feet, they looked pretty much like ragworms. (kind of yucky pic under the link)

Although he had been a big homebody in his previous life, as an amateur gourmet, he also liked to travel. He liked to see the sights and sample the local delicacies of various places, including Guangdong and Yunnan. The range of food in these two places was very extensive and varied — birds, beasts, seafood, and even bugs and dried human placenta. Guangdong even had an incident regarding 'Eating People from Fujian' that caused outrage on the internet.

Even this kind of worm, Ruan Tang had once eaten it in Guangdong. Because this kind of worm fed on plants, their bodies were plump and well-rounded. They were rich in protein and vitamins. Succulent and juicy, stir fried over low heat with some minced garlic and green onions, and seasoned with a bit of chili, it tasted delicious with a tender and smooth texture. It was a true delicacy.

"A'Tang, is this your first time seeing the Zergs? Don't underestimate these small bugs. They can't fly and they can't crawl very fast, but their numbers are endless. They can also spit acid water, with thousands upon thousands of them coming straight at you, once you're surrounded, even in the new mech model, they can eat you clean in minutes. They're a real headache on the battlefield. "He Yun Yi saw Ruan Tang was completely focused on this little bug and he took the initiative to give him an introduction.

"There are also these flying insects, which are even more troublesome. Although they're only as big as your palm, they fly really fast. Their bodies are relatively fragile but their attack power is astonishing. If they managed to overtake you, they can easily damage the mechs... " He shook his head as he explained it to Ruan Tang. The Zergs' destructive power was too great. The frontline soldiers paid a great price to get these samples.

Ruan Tang looked at the winged insect in front of him. It looked like a locust, with short whip-like antennaes, and powerful hind legs allowing them to jump high and fly fast.

Most impressive were those bugs that were as large as hills. Their shells were matchlessly hard and they looked like longhorn beetles. He heard He Yun Yi say that these were in charge of defense.

Although there were differences in the appearance of these bugs and they were many, many times larger, there really were a lot of similarities…

So, in the end, could these insects be eaten?

Ruan Tang thought to himself, and accidentally voiced it out.

He Yun Yi didn't hear it clearly at first. Thinking he had heard wrong, he asked, "Ah? What did you just say?"

Ruan Tang scratched his nose in embarrassment and asked, "Can these Zergs be eaten?"

"E-eat the Zergs?!" He Yun Yi looked at Ruan Tang incredulously. Before, his impression of Ruan Tang was that of a gentle and intelligent gourmand. But now, he can't possibly be just a simple gourmand. With guts like this, he'd be able to swallow the sky and devour the earth.

Ruan Tang looked at his expression and said once again, "I think we can test whether they're poisonous, and then …"

"A'Tang, please wake up!" He Yun Yi really wanted to grab his collar and shake some sense into him. "Look at the forelegs on this insect! It's so sharp it can even cut black steel! Look at this gigantic bug's shell, it's as hard as iron. Even with a light blade, it's still difficult to cut through. You'll need an energy cannon or an energy beam to split it open! And the mouthparts on these bugs! They contain such terrible corrosive fluids, even mechs can easily corrode! And you're thinking whether they can be eaten? "

"Uh … although it will be a bit more difficult to handle, but it should be okay? Just like with the water monsters from last like, we can use special kitchenware … Actually, for these small bugs, can't we just use pliers to cut through them? Regarding the mouthpiece, we can just chop off its entire head. If we find where they're storing the corrosive fluid, we could just dig that out. And this big worm, although it has a hard shell, it can't be as hard inside as it is outside, right? Maybe, when we cut it open, we'll be in for a pleasant surprise." The more Ruan Tang spoke about it, the more he felt it was feasible. He was really itching to dissect these insects.

He Yun Yi looked at Ruan Tang's sparkling eyes. He suddenly felt that chefs might be the scariest creatures in the universe…

In the end, He Yun Yi didn't know what kind of evil came over him, he followed Ruan Tang's suggestion and dissected all the bugs.

As Ruan Tang said, the small bugs that were as large as fingernails, after cutting off their jagged feet and removing their mouthpiece, had completely no attack power. Its corrosive fluid was stored in the tail like a tube. It was connected to the mouthpiece through the venom gland. You only needed to cut off the tail and remove the mouthpiece and the rest was as harmless as a silkworm.

The flying insect itself didn't have a hard carapace. It was known for its flying speed and amazing attack power. After removing the wings, forelimbs, and mouthparts, it was also not poisonous.

Even the huge hill-like beetle, after cutting open the shell with a specialized cutting tool, the exposed meat inside was white and tender. It looked a lot like the meat from the monster lobsters. Seeing the full, plump and plentiful meat, He Yun Yi subconsciously began to drool.

He must have been infected by Ruan Tang!

"Are you sure they're safe? If they are, how about I try cooking it?"

He Yun Yi: "…"

Ruan Tang stared at it with such eager eyes. What else could he do? Of course, he agreed.

Facts would prove that Ruan Tang's idea was correct. No matter how the Zergs mutate, evolve, or develop, they were, in essence, weak and poor bugs.

The insect that were similar to ragworms were stir-fried into a sweet, savory dish. The flying insects that looked like locusts were deep-fried until they were crisp. The meat inside was also delicious, having absorbed the flavor of the sauce and green onions. And that giant beetle, the one that looked like a Longhorn, he dug out the meat and deep fried it. It was crispy with a tinge of sweetness. It was a lot more delicious than they thought it would be.

After eating, He Yun Yi fell into silence. After a while, he spoke in a low voice.

"From now on, I won't discriminate between species …"